Premier League Gameweek 8 Review

Gameweek 8 of the Premier League began after a two-week international break. Liverpool and Man United played out a goalless draw, Arsenal and Chelsea were upset and Manchester City continued their blistering form to the season:

Liverpool 0 – 0 Man United:In one of the most highly anticipated match between these two rivals, both disappointed big time to play out a goalless draw. There was nothing much to talk about in the match, except a worldly save from De Gea who denied Matip the opener. Other than that it was a lackluster performance.Some might say that Mourinho parked the bus and played too defensively. Make no mistake, it was indeed a very defensive approach from Mourinho but Klopp looked in no mood to win the match too. Coutinho and Salah were Liverpool’s best players on the pitch but surprisingly, Klopp took both of them off with 15 minutes to play.In a match where no team wanted to win, a draw is probably a fair result.

Crystal Palace 2 – 1 Chelsea:

Defending champions Chelsea travelled away to struggling Palace who were yet to record their 1st win of the season. Palace began purposefully and were rewarded as Azpilicueta scored an own goal in the 11th minute. But Chelsea got 1 back just 7 minutes later as Bakayoko headed home after an inch-perfect corner kick from Fabregas. Zaha then put Palace in front on the stoke of Halftime as he skipped past Azpilicueta and beat Courtois with a fine strike. The match ended in a frustrating 2-1 defeat for Chelsea and the Palace players were overawed in their celebrations.

Burnley 1 – 1 West Ham:Burnley hosted West Ham at Turf Moor as they aimed to continue their good start to the season. But they were dealt a blow in the 19th minute as Antonio put the visitors ahead with his first goal of the season. Chris Wood then scored a late goal in the 85th minute as points were shared at Turf Moor.

Man City 7 – 2 Stoke:

Boy oh, boy are City flying or what? Having scored 16 goals in their last 3 matches, they were on a roll.Gabriel Jesus put them ahead in the 17th minute. Sterling was on hand to double the lead just 2 minutes later. 8 minutes later, Sterling turned provider as David Silva made it 3-0. Diouf scored Stoke’s opener a minute before Half time and Kyle Walker scored an own goal 2 minutes into the 2nd half to make it 3-2. But all hopes of a Stoke fight back quickly evaporated as Jesus scored City’s 4th in the 55th minute. City began to run riot as Fernandinho scored their 5th just 5 minutes later. Sane joined the party in the 62nd minute as the scoreline read 6-2. Bernardo Silva came on in the 63rd minute and he put the icing on the cake as he got City’s 7th in the 79th minute.City eventually won 7-2 and the way they’re gilding, they look genuine title contenders. Who can stop City? That is a mystery yet to be solved.

Swansea 2 – 0 Huddersfield:Swansea hosted Premier league newcomers Huddersfield town at the Liberty Stadium. Abraham put the hosts ahead in the 43rd minute after Lossl’s error had given the ball away. Abraham then scored his and Swansea’s 2nd just 4 minutes into the 2nd half after Ayew chipped it over Lossl and Abraham was on cue to make it 2-0 to complete an easy victory for the hosts.

Tottenham 1 – 0 Bournemouth:Tottenham finally broke their Wembley curse to win their 1st match of the season at their new home ground. Both sides had chances early on as Alli and King went close. But it was Eriksen who put the Spurs ahead in the 48th minute. Lloris then made a wonderful save in the 79th minute to deny Defoe the equalizer. On the other side of the pitch, Eriksen went close again and his shot was well blocked by Begovic as the match finished in a 1-0 victory for Tottenham.

Watford 2 – 1 Arsenal:

Arsenal traveled to the Vicarage stadium to face a rejuvenated Watford. Mertesacker scored his 1st goal in nearly 4 years as Arsenal went 1-0 ahead in the 39th minute. Watford were then awarded a penalty in the 72nd minute and Troy Deeney made no mistake from the spot to make it 1-1. Watford then scored a 93rd minute injury time winner as ex-red Tom Cleverley scored from close range to steal 3 points. The win also lifted Watford to 4th in the table.

Southampton 2 – 2 Newcastle:Newcastle traveled away to Southampton after their encouraging 1-1 draw against Liverpool the match before. Hayden scored a thumping goal in the 21st minute as Newcastle took the lead. But the hosts found the equalizer through Gabbiadini in the 50th minute. Newcastle took the lead again just 2 minutes later as Perez scores from a rebound after his earlier effort had been blocked. But Gabbiadini scored his 2nd to make it 2-2 again in the 76th minute. The match ended in a 2-2 draw as points were shared.

Brighton 1 – 1 Everton:

Brighton hosted a struggling Everton team as both sides were desperately in search of some points. No side had any real chance until the 83rd minute when Knockaert beat Pickford from 10 yards out to score Brighton’s opener. But their joy was short-lived as Everton were awarded a penalty and Wayne Rooney coolly put it in the back of the net to earn a draw for Everton.

Leicester 1 – 1 West Brom:Leicester hosted West Brom at the King Power Stadium in the last match of Gameweek 8 on Monday Night. Vardy, Mahrez, and Iheancho combined well throughout the 1st half but were unable to get the opener. As luck would have it, West Brom were awarded a free kick in the 64th minute and Nacer Chadli scored a stunner to put the visitors 1-0 ahead. Leicester had a couple of more chances but it was Mahrez who scored the equalizer in the 81st minute to salvage a point for the hosts.